Surgical instrument



(No ModeL) R. A. BAGNALL. SURGIGAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 559,350; PatentedMay 5, 1896.

\Hir @J KW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD A. BAGNALL, OF PLATTSBURG, NE YORK.

SURGICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,350, dated May 5,1896.

Application filed s t b 11, 1895. Serial No. 562,155. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD A. BAGNALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Plattsbu rg, in the county of Clinton and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Choke-Extractor, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention aims to provide an improved instrument for removingobstacles, such as fruit and vegetables, from the throats of animalswithout injury and with safety both to the animal and the attendant, andwhich can be easily operated by the average person without specialadaptation.

The instrument will be more particularly set forth hereinafter andclaimed, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa side elevation of the instru ment, showing the extracting-pointprotruding from its sheath. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of thesheath, showing the extractor in side elevation and its point partiallyprotruding through the aperture at the entrance end of the sheath.

The sheath 1 is of rubber tubing or hosepipe about one inch in diameterand eighteen to twenty inches in length, more or less, and is providedat one end with a sleeve 2, closed at its outer end by a plate 3 and atits opposite end with a thimble 4, which is flared or swelled at itsouter end, as shown. at 5, and

which end has an inturned flange 6, forming a central opening 7, throughwhich operates the screw or gimlet point 8 of the extractor. The sleeve2 and the thimble 4 are metal and serve to reinforce and stiffen theterminal ends of the sheath, and are secured in place upon the sheath inany convenient manner, so as to prevent their accidental displacement.

The extractor consists, essentially, of a rod 9, havinga screw or gimletpoint 8 at one end, and provided at its opposite end with a handle 10,by means of which the said rod can be moved longitudinally within thesheath or rotated, so as to engage the screw or gimlet point 8 withanyobstruction which may have lodged in the animals throat. This rod 9 isof, metal and is sufficiently elastic to admit of the use of theinstrument in instances when the animals head cannot be brought about inalinement with the throat, so as to secure a straight passage, and therod will be about three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, so as tosecure the proper stiffness necessary to the successful operation of theinstrument. The plate 3 is centrally apertured at 11, so as to snuglyfit the rod 9 and guide the same in its various movements. The screw orgimlet point 8 snugly fits within the opening 7 and is pre- 1 ventedfrom wabbling by engagement with the edges or sides thereof. A plate 12is fitted within the sheath a short distance from the outer orpenetrating end thereof and is centrally apertured to provide a bearingfor the adjacent end of the rod 9, and serves to centralize the latterand steady it in its various movements. a

The swelled or enlarged end 5 of the thimble 4E expands the throat asthe instrument is advanced therein and prevents the sides of the sheathfrom engaging injuriously therewith. The application of the instrumentis ob vious, and in the event of a fruit or vegetablesuch as a turnip,potato, or applelodg ing in the animals throat at a point remote fromthe action of the swallowing-muscles th e instrument is introduced intothe throat and advanced to the obstruction, care being taken to have thescrew or gimlet point protected by being withdrawn within the sheath,and after the obstruction has been reached the handle 10 is grasped andgently advanced and at the same time rotated to cause the gimlet orscrew point to enter the obstructing article, so as to remove the latterby withdrawing the instrument from the throat, as will be readilyappreciated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In aninstrument for removing obstructing articles from the throats ofanimals, the combination with a flexible sheath, a thimble secured toone end thereof and having its outer end swelled or enlarged and formedwith an inturned flange providing a centrally-disposed opening, and aplate secured within the sheath in proximate relation to its terminalend, of a rod located within the sheath and obtaininga bearing in thesaid plate, and provided with a screw or gimlet point to engage with thesides or edges of the opening formed by the inturned flange of thethimble, substantially as set forth for the purpose described.

2. The herein-specified instrument for removing obstruotions from thethroats of animals, the same consisting of a flexible tube, a sleeveapplied to one end of the tube and having a eentrally-apertured plate atits outer end, a thiinble secured to the opposite end of the tube andhaving its outer end swelled or enlarged and formed with an intnrnedflange providing a central opening, a plate secured within the tube ashort distance from the flanged end of the thinlble, and a flexible rodlocated within the tube and obtaining bearin gs in the said plates, andformed at one end my own I have hereto affixed my signature in 20 thepresence of two witnesses.

RICHARD A. BAGNALL.

\Vitnesses:

CHARLES W. VAUGHAN, HARRY B. RICE.

